I vote that Miss Dawn definitely needs a bio-dome. :)

Ya'll stay safe and as cool as possible! Even tho we're fairly cool and wet right now, I'm sure we'll be right behind ya on the heat index. :)

Beth

I think you meant to title your post "Hot weather arrives...", not "how"?

Our forecast here is all week in the 90s with lows in the 70s. At least the lows aren't too bad. I think I'll put out the kid's pool this morning so they can play in it later.

Hi Dawn,

Wishing you cool too! I have a sweet little thing blooming it's tail off in my garden and I know I got it from you! Looks like a miniture holly hock? Certainly isn't bothered by the heat. It's so happy and made me happy this morning!

Have a great day!
Laura

Gamebird, You're right! And once you post, you can't go back and fix it. LOL

The kids' pool sounds cool and inviting. I was looking at the dogs' wading pool a while ago and thinking I'd love to go sit down in it and cool off, but I'd have to empty it out, scrub it, and refill it first since the dogs go from dirt to water....and let's just say their wading pool water is sightly cloudy.

I could get out the 2-year-old "borrowed grandchild's" pool and put water in it, but suspect DH would stop mowing and weedeating if he "caught" me sitting in her pool with a cold drink in my hand. That's not to say I won't eventually give in and sit in that wading pool after the mowing is all done.

Laura,

I'm just a weather wimp any more. I'd be perfectly happy if our high temps never went higher than 90.

I believe the little plant that is blooming so well for you is Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina' aka French Hollyhock. It may be little now, but it is a perennial and will be much bigger next year. I've linked a photo of Malva 'Zebrina' below and, if your flower color doesn't match it exactly, then you have Malva 'Mystic Merlin'. I have both in the border I dug those small plants from, although I believe I was digging up 'Zebrina' and not 'Mystic Merlin'.

I'm glad you're emjoying it. I am in the process of digging out more self-sown seedlings and redistributing them around the yard. It's taking me forever because of the aforementioned heat.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful:

It is 80 here and a heat index of 80 with 37% humidity which is high for us considering we haven't had any rain. Guess all the rain around us is raising it. But not too bad. Saying upper 80's lower 90's today. Had heavy hail SE of us last night. Between baseball and softball size. Heard one stone went through the top of a camper. Got a lot of roofs I'm told. The roofers are snowed under now. So on the bright side no rain but no bad stuff. Hope you all can stay cool. Know your humidity is higher than ours. Jay

As hot as it is - and I was out Monday loading hay/manure (heat stroke!!) to put around my roses, I tell myself this is Colorado Mountain weather compared to where my son is. He is with the 45th Nat'l Guard in Kuwait. He had me ship him a digital therometer because their regular type "blew it's top!".

Officially, the Kuwait government caps the temperature at 130 degrees - they just don't report anything exceeding 130 degrees, but veteran soldiers there say they have seen 150 degrees and they are predicting a really hot summer this year. Some days it's hot, but bearable and other days he says you can take two steps outside and be drenched in sweat - it's all about the humidity. He's been there since October and will be home around Aug 10. He can tell me the days, minutes and seconds he has left!

The Army (of course) has a neat heat index chart that regulates how long you can work in that heat compared to recovery time and how much water you must drink per hour. I'll see if I can link it....humm, it's a powerpoint document. Can I link it here?

Anyway, I agree. It's hot and probably going to get hotter. We'll all just appreciate the cooler weather when it comes. ;-). Patti

Patti511 - Please tell you son "Thanks for Serving", and I know the conditions are awful for him. I know you are anxious for him to come home. Carol

150?? Holy smokes, that's insane!

My thermometer in the shade is reading 103 right now. I think it's exaggerating a wee bit but I guess it could be. I'm sitting in front of the fan, refusing to move for anything at the moment so what do I know? LOL

Of Dawn gets a BioDome, I'm moving in with here. Until then, maybe I'll just stick my underwear in the freezer.

Diane

Thank you Thank you Dawn! I love my little Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina'! It seems to love the heat too. I will only see it early in the morning or after sun goes down until it cools down. Might have to take a picture......

"Of Dawn gets a BioDome, I'm moving in with here."

That should read "IF Dawn gets a BioDome, I'm moving in with HER."

I'll blame it on the sweaty, slippery fingers...

Y'all, I really toughed it out today and worked outside until the heat index hit 100 degrees, then scampered inside to shower, put on clean, DRY clothes, etc. Then, Tim and I went out and ran a few errands. By the time we were on our way home, the HX had topped out at 103, so today still felt a lot better than several days last week!

Jay, I think it is the two previous drought summers that made me forget how horrible the heat indexes can be when it is more humid. For the 20 or so months that we had serious drought, our humidity in the afternoon often bottomed out at around 15, but even went as low as 7 or 8 or 10% a few times. You know, 100 degrees with 15, 20 or 30% humidity feels pretty good compared to 100 degrees with 50 or 70 or 80% humidity. Since our rain has stopped here, I expect our humidity levels to fall progressively lower and think our heat index numbers will fall, too, over time. Right now, though, they are awful.

One good thing about the recent lack of rainfall is that our mosquito levels are finally falling, although the skeeters certainly haven't completely disappeared.

Patti, Please tell your son how much our family appreciates his service to our nation and we appreciate the sacrifices he and the other troops are making to keep us free and safe. Also, I hope you know we will be thinking of him (and also of how much y'all are missing him while he's away) and praying for his safe return in August.

I cannot imagine 130 degrees, and 150 degrees doesn't even sound possible. How our troops manage to do their jobs and accomplish their tasks in those temperatures is just beyond me. When it hits 107, 108 or 110 here, I can barely walk from the air conditioned house to the air conditioned car without thinking I am going to die. How they can live and function in substantially hotter conditions is just beyond me!

Diane, It was only 95 or 96 here officially, but it sure felt awful, and you probably have worse humidity than we do.

I don't think I'll ever get that Bio-Dome over the garden that I've been lobbying for. Today, Tim put up one tarp to give the dog yard a bit more shade. They already have quite a bit of shade....one area with a 10' x 10' metal canopy, another with a 4' x 8' metal roof, another small covered back porch, a few trees, and a "wall" of sunflowers, but they always whine and carry on like they are roasting in an oven. So, he put up a tarp, and I strategically placed a row of container-grown tomatoes to create another wall of shade, and now the doggies have more shade. Yet (play sad song on violin here), I am expected to work in the garden in full sun. Clearly, the dogs are more pampered than me. LOL You can come stay with us any time. I have a lot of bermuda grass to dig up and convert to mixed beds and your assistance would be just wonderful. I am wondering if your DH and wonderful children would stay "on task" on their various projects without you and the baby there to tell them what to do. LOL

It actually has been slightly cooler than I expected the last two days based on last week's heat index numbers. Of course, once you've worked outside in a heat index of 109 (the hottest I think I ever remember here in the past is 110 or 111),then 102 or 103 feels "pretty good".

I heard a rumor that a "cold front" is headed for OK by the weekend. Yippee!

Dawn

Patti, I hope your son gets to work at night when the temps cool off to 95 to 100. My son was in Kuwait during the first gulf war as an Air Force mechanic. When he visited us on his return he kept turning our AC down to 72--we run it at 78-80. He said that in all the time he was in Kuwait the coolest he ever was--was 90. The tents were airconditioned to 90-95 during the day so they could sleep and then after dark they were in unairconditioned hangars working on planes and the coolest it got overnight was 90-95. So tell your son we are certainly thinking of him and praying for his safe return.

Patti,
Yes tell him thanks for serving and that him and all the troops are in my thoughts and prayers. Jay

Here is a picture of the sweet Malva sylvestris 'Zebrina' aka French Hollyhock that I got from Dawn at the Spring Swap.

Here is a link that might be useful: photobucket